NEW YORK, March 13 (Reuters) - U.S. stocks slumped on
Friday, putting the S&P 500 on track for its third straight
weekly decline, as a robust dollar threatened to erode the
profits of multinationals and tumbling crude oil prices
pressured energy shares.

Crude oil fell 4 percent to $45.15 a barrel,
extending its losses throughout the morning, after the
International Energy Agency said a global oil glut continued to
build and U.S. oil production showed no signs of slowing. The
commodity has fallen in six of the past seven sessions and is
down almost 60 percent from a peak reached in June.

"It's a bit of a surprise that the U.S. continues to produce
at such a high level, and that amount of oil surplus continues
to push the commodity lower," said Michael Arone, chief
investment strategist for State Street Global Advisors' U.S.
Intermediary Business in Boston.

"I don't expect oil will go much lower, but as it keeps
falling, there are bigger concerns that we could see problems
with respect to capital expenditures and employment in certain
regions of the country."
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